The mysterious shop was not easy to locate; it seemed to pop up out of nowhere.
It was magical because the next day, when someone returned to the previous shop location, the design was already back, leaving no trace of any previous activity.
Because of this, its popularity grew day by day, not just because of its mystery, but also because it had most of the items people needed.
The downside was that they only accepted antiques and jades as currency.
Now, Lydia and Jessa were busy entertaining customers, while Ramon and Butler Aki were packing the items.
"Alright, these are the items you wanted. Thank you for shopping at Paradise Shop," Jessa said, smiling at the customer who had sold a valuable antique.
"Hahaha, well thank you too! These supplies will definitely last me a bit longer. By the way, are you still stationed around here?"
"It depends on the situation; we’ll go with the flow."
They were planning to expand their business to the other building, considering they were almost done in Building C.
"I see," the customer replied, understanding that the residents here had already exchanged their jades and antiques with them.
Afterward, the residents left with happy expressions, relieved to have found supplies.
Gone were the days of struggling and begging for food.
However, they remained wary of each other, simply nodding when spoken to and avoiding mingling too much before returning to their units and locking their doors tightly.
Two days had passed since they opened the shop, and Elena was shocked to discover that the residents had a lot of jades and antiques—they were simply low-key wealthy.
Business was thriving, and the residents eagerly bought supplies.
Most were good customers who followed the rules, but there were some who tried to cheat them.
Fortunately, Elena could easily check if their jades and antiques were real.
The worst part was that some attempted to steal from them, trying to rob them outright.
However, Elena swiftly threw them out the window, sending a clear warning to others not to engage in bad behavior.
But there were still some foolish enough not afraid, group of thugs.
"Starting today, we will take over this shop," the thug leader declared, pointing his improvised baton and ready to fight.
The customers watched with pity, not for the Paradise Shop personnel, but for the thugs.
They had seen the shop’s capability when it came to dealing with people who tried to rob them.
Their methods were brutal, so there was no need to panic.
"Here we go again. Can’t they just trade honestly? Why resort to this?"
"Well, everyone has their own circumstances, but targeting Paradise Shop is really not a wise choice."
Sigh. "Well, since they made that choice, I hope they won’t regret it."
Seeing the calm expression on the customer’s face, the thug leader was confused.
The customers looked at them as if they were foolish, mixed with pity.
"What are you staring at? Kneel down!" the thug leader demanded.
But the customer just laughed at them, now looking at the thugs as if they were the real fools.
"What are you laughing at? I will kil—" But before he could finish, Elena and the others had already taken action.
They stunned the thugs with electric guns, rendering them unable to move, and then simply tossed them out of the building.
The presence of these thugs only added to her annoyance.
Elena had been in a bad mood these past few days—she hadn’t had her period yet and was already six days late.
Lydia had already talked to her, seriously concerned about her eating habits.
She had been eating with gusto, which also alarmed Aunt Liza and Grandma Ford.
Aunt Liza was also worried, noticing that Elena was always drowsy. She suggested a thorough check-up to ensure Elena was healthy.
Grandma Ford hinted at Elena’s changing tastes, making it obvious that she might be pregnant.
’Pregnant? Don’t make me laugh. How could I be one when we always take precautions?’
But Elena brushed it off, thinking she was just adapting to the stress of recent events and probably tired from their previous activities.
She wanted to convince herself that everything was fine, but her period still hadn’t arrived, and she was starting to feel uneasy.
Her belly also seemed to be showing some bumps, which was why she hadn’t allowed Ethan to touch her in the past few days.
Ethan was patiently accommodating her changing moods, consoling her at every turn, unaware of her dilemma.
Seeing his wife in a bad mood again, Ethan sighed in concern and quickly went to her side, holding her hands tightly.
"Wife? Are you okay?"
"Of course I’m fine! Can’t you see we dealt with those thugs swiftly?"
However, Ethan could sense that she was still upset.
This time, he was determined to find out the cause of her changing mood.
"Wife, tell me what’s really going on."
Elena then realized she had been neglecting her husband, and he had the right to know.
She mustered her courage; it was time to check if she was really pregnant.
"Let’s head to Paradise first. I need to check something."
"Alright," Ethan replied, concern etched on his face.
Elena then instructed everyone to finish cleaning up the mess and told them she and Ethan would rest for a while in the space.
She also summoned Xander, requesting more monitors to safeguard the shop’s location.
Once they entered the space, she teleported them to their portable house.
"Wait here for a moment," Elena instructed.
She then went to the bathroom and retrieved a pregnancy test, quickly preparing to see if she was pregnant.
Nervousness washed over her as she waited for the result, feeling increasingly uneasy.
Meanwhile, Ethan was also feeling confused and anxious.
His wife seemed off today, and he couldn’t shake the feeling of unease.
Minutes passed with no updates from Elena, prompting him to go to the bathroom and knock repeatedly.
"Wife? You’ve been in there for almost five minutes. Is everything okay?"